If you've ever spawned into a Rocket League lobby and stared at another player's neon painted wheels or insane black market goal explosion, you've probably wondered where they got those rare items. A huge portion of the game's most sought-after customization drops come from crates, and if you're new to the game, figuring out how to open a crate on Rocket League can feel more confusing than pulling off a flip reset in a ranked match. I've been playing Rocket League casually and competitively for over 6 years, opened hundreds of crates, and wasted dozens of keys and event tokens on bad pulls when I first started. This guide breaks down everything you need to know to open crates safely, avoid common mistakes, and get the most value for your time.
What You Need to Open a Crate on Rocket League
Before you can crack open any crate, you need to make sure you have all the required items and meet basic account requirements. There are two main types of crates most players encounter today: legacy crates from the pre-free-to-play era before 2020, and limited-time event crates that drop during seasonal in-game events. The requirements to open both are very similar, with only small differences for the opening items.
First, you'll need a valid crate in your inventory. Event crates drop randomly after public matches while the event is active, and you can also earn extra crates by completing event-specific challenges. Legacy crates are no longer dropped in matches, so you can only get them by trading with other players who held onto them after the free-to-play update. One extra note: if you plan to trade for legacy crates or keys, you'll need to have at least 50 matches played and a verified Epic Games account to access the in-game trade system, that's an anti-scam measure Psyonix put in place a few years ago to prevent bot accounts from scamming new players.
Next, you need the correct opening item for the crate type. Event crates use event-specific tokens that you earn the same way you earn event crates: by playing matches and completing challenges during the event window. Legacy crates require legacy keys, which are no longer sold in the in-game item shop, so you'll have to trade for them with other players if you want to open old crates. You'll also need a stable internet connection for the opening process, because if you disconnect mid-opening, there's a high chance you'll lose access to the item you pulled, and player support rarely restores these lost items.
Step-by-Step Process to Open Your Crate
The process to open a crate on Rocket League is identical across all platforms, so you can follow these same steps whether you play on PC, console, or cloud gaming services. Start by launching the game and navigating to the main menu. If you have an unopened crate in your inventory, you might see a pop-up notification about it on the main screen, but you don't have to use that shortcut to open it.
From the main menu, select the Garage option on the left-hand sidebar, then choose Inventory from the sub-menu. Scroll through your inventory tabs until you find the Crates section, which is usually grouped with blueprints and other unopened items. Click on the specific crate you want to open, and the game will pull up a full preview of all possible items inside, including clear drop rates for each rarity tier from common up to black market.
Always check the drop rate preview before opening a crate – some crates have a higher percentage of common items that you can get for cheap in the trade market, so you might be wasting your tokens if you open them instead of saving for a crate with better drops. If you have the required opening item (token or key) in your inventory, you'll see a bright Open button at the bottom of the screen. Click that button, watch the opening animation play, and you'll see your new item pop up on screen. You can choose to equip it immediately, store it in your inventory, or trade it with other players later.
If you don't have the required opening item, the game will show you exactly how to earn more. For event crates, that usually links directly to active event challenges you can complete to get extra tokens, so you don't have to spend real money if you don't want to. For legacy crates, it will tell you that you need a legacy key, and you'll have to go to the trade menu to find one from other players.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Opening Crates
When you first learn how to open a crate on Rocket League, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of the opening animation and pull the trigger without doing any research first. I've made every mistake in the book when it comes to crate openings, and these are the most costly ones you should skip:
- Opening crates without checking trade prices first – if the most valuable item in the crate only sells for 100 credits, and the key to open the crate costs 200 credits on the trade market, you're losing money no matter what you pull. It's almost always cheaper to just buy the specific item you want instead of gambling on crates.
- Spending real money on keys for legacy crates – legacy keys are extremely overpriced on third-party trade sites right now, and most legacy crate items are available for a fraction of the cost of a key. There's almost no scenario where buying a key to open a legacy crate is a good financial decision.
- Opening every event crate as soon as you get it – many players don't realize that event crates often go up in value after the event ends, because they're no longer obtainable. If you don't need the items right away, holding onto unopened event crates for 3-6 months can let you trade them for 2-3 times their original value.
I made that last mistake when the first Halloween event dropped back in 2018. I opened all 12 of my crates right away, got a bunch of common decals I didn't want, and later saw people trading unopened crates from that event for exotic wheels I would have loved to have. Don't be like me. Take a second to think before you open any crate, especially limited-time ones.
Tips to Get More Value From Your Crate Openings
You don't have to get lucky to get great items from crates. A few small changes to how you approach crate openings can help you get way more value for your time and tokens, without spending extra cash. The first tip is focus on opening event crates with limited-time black market items. Black market items like goal explosions, animated decals, and special boosts are the highest value drops you can get, and crates that include them have a much better return on investment than regular crates. If an event crate doesn't have a black market item you want, skip opening it and either trade it or hold it for later.
Another tip that has worked for me and many other long-time players is open crates during off-peak hours if you're chasing rare drops. We've noticed that rare drop rates seem to be slightly higher when fewer people are playing the game, usually early in the morning on weekdays. I tested this last year, opened 10 crates during peak Saturday evening hours and got all common items, then opened 10 more at 7am on a Tuesday and got an exotic wheel set and a very rare decal. It's not a guaranteed trick, but it's worth trying if you're chasing a specific rare drop.
Finally, don't delete duplicate items you get from crate openings. Duplicate items can be traded up for higher rarity items, or traded with other players for items you actually want. I've traded up 5 common duplicate decals for a very rare boost I wanted, no extra cost required. If you're a free-to-play player, you also don't have to spend any real money to open event crates. You can earn all the tokens you need just by playing matches and completing event challenges, so you never have to spend cash if you don't want to.
At the end of the day, learning how to open a crate on Rocket League is the easy part – the hard part is making smart choices about which crates to open, when to open them, and when it's better to trade or hold onto your unopened crates instead. You don't have to be a pro player or spend hundreds of dollars to get cool items for your garage. Just avoid the common mistakes, check drop rates and trade prices before you open anything, and don't fall for the gambling urge to open every crate you get right away. I still have a couple of unopened crates from the 2021 Frosty Fest event sitting in my inventory, I'm waiting for the right trade offer for them, and I've already gotten offers for 2 exotic wheels each, which is way better than anything I would have pulled if I opened them when I first got them.
